BedTimes magazine June 2010

TheLastWord
Contact us
Have you ever searcHed a company’s
Web site, trying to find a phone
number or mailing address only to
be led to a generic “Contact Us”
email form? It’s annoying.
Part of good customer service,
whether you’re talking to consumers
or business-to-business clients,
is making it easy for people interested
in your company to contact
you.
Every Web site should have
a clearly marked “Contact Us”
section that includes—at the very
least—a company mailing address,
phone and fax numbers, and an
email address. You might want to
put this information at the bottom
of every page.
If you have a Facebook page,
Twitter account or are involved in
other social media platforms, list
those prominently on your Web
site, too.
The Web site for Jonestown,
N.Y.-based furniture and mattress
retailer Ruby & Quiri includes
basic contact information for the
company, but also provides owner
Rick Ruby’s personal email address,
cell phone number and home
phone number. Now that’s someone
who truly wants to hear from
his customers.
52 | BedTimes | June 2010
“A ruffled mind
makes a
restless pillow.”
— Charlotte Brontë
Quotable
A sound selling idea
Beautiful tickings appeal to the consumer’s eye. Smooth organic cottons and fluffy
microfibers practically demand that she reach out and touch them. If she does, she
might discover the light scent of lavender. Mattress manufacturers know how to appeal
to a variety of senses—sight, touch, smell. But what about sound?
Sure, some high-tech, high-end bed sets include built-in sound systems or iPod
docking stations. But could you be using sound to make your mattresses more
appealing?
Research by Martin Lindstrom, a marketing consultant and author of
Buy*ology, has done research showing the feel-good effects
of sounds—everything from a bird song to a cell phone
vibrating to a cigarette being lit. Study participants
were most interested in and made happiest by the
sound of a giggling baby.
Consider adding evocative sounds to elements
on your Web site or to point-of-purchase
materials you design for your dealers. We’re
not sure that snoring would make a good
soundtrack, but what about a babbling
brook for your green products or a softly
cooing baby for juvenile bedding?
BIG number
59 According to a poll from
Money magazine and Lowe’s
home improvement centers,
59% of American homeowners
say that their happiness
with their homes has a
“significant impact” on how
happy they are overall.
%
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes